Republican leaders in the upper chamber blasted President Obama Tuesday for threatening to veto legislation ending payroll relief that includes language requiring the president to sign off on the controversial Keystone XL pipeline.
Following a closed-door luncheon, Republican senators explained that the balanced function of their version of the payroll tax holiday, arguing the Keystone XL Pipeline is estimated to produce an immediate 20,000 jobs and that other language rolling back regulations on the EPA’s Maximum Achievable Control Technology would ultimately save jobs.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell offered his support for the current GOP payroll tax package, calling it a bipartisan bill that deserves to be passed.
“This has been a very balanced package put together by the House designed to appeal to both Republicans and Democrats.”
McConnell also fired on Democrats for signaling that they may withhold a vote on the omnibus bill until language is changed in the Republican payroll plan.
“It’s appropriate to ask the President and the Majority Leader why they want to undo a deal that was already made and threaten to shut down the government here a week before Christmas,” McConnell said.
“This is a rarity around here,” McConnell enumerated. “We’ve got a bipartisan agreement on a number of appropriations bills and the President, presumably in order to create some political issue - which I find difficult to understand - has instructed Democratic senators not to sign the conference report on a bill they support.”